“I agree with his assessment. We did play soft,” Indiana’s Danny Granger said Wednesday. “We got smacked around. We got beat up, we got bullied, and we really didn’t respond well.

“I’ve been with Larry since I’ve been in Indiana for seven years,” Granger added. “He’s not been one to hold his tongue, and 99 percent of the time what he’s saying is right. I think he just called out what everyone else saw. We played a soft game. We didn’t play with the playoff intensity that we needed to win.”

“He’s just trying to amp them up. That’s all. That’s all it is,” James said. “He knows his team isn’t soft. But with them, with their backs against the wall at this point, he knows what he’s doing. He’s not the executive of the year for no reason.”

The bigger question than if the Pacers are soft is if Granger will be able to go. Granger sprained his ankle in the third quarter when he landed on LeBron James foot and the Pacers were outscored by 21 the rest of the way. Granger said he will play; coach Frank Vogel was more hesitant.

In a series that has gotten very chippy, I wouldn’t expect a soft game on Thursday.

If they do, I would say Spurs have edge over Heat without Bosh in some repsects, then again if LeBron keeps playing like he is, and if Wade wakes up for good …. then the Spurs will have issues as well.

Spurs vs Heat would be great. Obviously the Spurs are way deeper, but they do not have anyone to guard Wade and Lebron. Lebron will torch the Spurs – who are they going to use to guard him, Leonard? And if Bosh is healthy, he will give Duncan fits b/c he can draw Duncan out of the paint, and is much quicker to the basket.

And the Heat are built to defend the Spurs since they are so good at closing out shooters.

I think the Heat would rather see the Spurs in the Finals than the Thunder.